“Ddddoonnntt…tttoooucchh.. hhhheerrr,” Crow said, struggling to get back on her feet.

  “If you want to kill her, you’d have to go through me,” she added, raising her sword and pointing it at him, her legs shaking.

  “Haven’t I taught you enough? No wonder killing your parents was so easy,” he said, as he comfortably walked towards Crow, knowing she wasn’t a threat due to her wounds.

  “What do you mean by killing my parents?” Crow asked, as Devin raised his sword and tried to strike her.

  She easily blocked it and, “I said, what do you mean by killing my parents?” she asked again, as she fought hard to push his sword away.

  “Oh that won’t be important anymore because I’m about to do the same to you,” Devin said. He jumped back, and tried to strike her multiple times, but she easily parried all his attacks despite her wounds.

  “You seem to be stronger than before, please put up more of a fight,” he added, assuming a battle stance.

  Crow charged at Devin, and attacked him furiously, screaming as she did, flashes of her parents’ deaths playing in her head.

  He dodged all her attacks, but seemed to be having a hard time as he did. Crow slashed at him again and again until “Aagh!” he cried out in agony. She had succeeded in cutting his arm, causing him to drop the sword in his hand.

  “Ooh, looks like you don’t do so well with pain,” Crow said, peering at the wound on his arm with a superior sneer.

  “You? I’ll end you like I ended your parents,” he said, and picked up the sword with his other hand.

  The battle raged on and Devin still managed to keep up with Crow using only one arm to battle.

  He tried to cut her, and she grabbed his arm and flipped him over, hitting the back of his head on the floor in the process.

  The world began to spin as he struggled to get back on his feet, but couldn’t. His vision became blurred, and there was a ringing sound in his ear. Crow spoke some words, which sounded muffled to him, as he squinted his eyes in an attempt to clear his vision, but it was to no avail.

  “It’s ironic how someone so strong could be so weak,” Crow said as she slowly approached him, dragging the tip of her sword along the concrete floor.

  “Before I kill you, I have one thing to ask. What do you mean by killing my parents?” Crow asked with her sword already raised, prepared to deal a killing blow.

  “Hmm, you’ll find out soon, and I won’t be the one to tell you,” Devin said, as he sat up, and groaned due to the pain in the back of his head.

  “Oh well, I’ll find out my way!” Mrs. Crow said in disgust, and stabbed him right through his heart.

  The blade passed right through him, and he vomited a pool of blood on the floor, making bubbled gasps before giving up the ghost.

  Mrs. Crow’s wounds healed the moment he died, and “Seems like my magic is back,” she said, as she conjured a flame in her hand just to be sure.

  Annabelle’s friends had passed out due to the immense pain they felt in their abdomens, and Annabelle was still unconscious, laying on the ground as though she were dead.

  “Mrs. Crow took a deep breath, and a red mist came out of her nostrils and gently seeped into the nostrils of Anna and her friends. Immediately the mist was inhaled, they all regained consciousness and stood to their feet looking a bit confused.

  “Looks like you got him,” Jackson said, as he noticed Devin’s corpse on the floor with the sword in his chest.

  “What do we do now?” Anna asked, rubbing her neck. She still felt the pain of the strong grip Devin had dealt her earlier.

  “Now, we go back home and re-think,” Crow said, motioning all of them to gather around her.

  “Do you know who’s behind all these attacks?” Annabelle asked, staring at Crow.

  “I’m not sure, but I have an idea who it might be. We will definitely get to the root of the problem, now let’s get out of here or we will be in trouble if the other guards come in, considering the fact that I can use magic again,” Crow said. Her eyes glowed white, and her hair was suspended midair.

  “Hold hands.” They all held hands and vanished. Within a split second, the entire team had arrived at Mrs. Crow’s office and the new year celebration was still ongoing.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t found the person who is after you or why,” Crow apologized, placing a hand on Anna’s shoulder.

  “You don’t have to apologize, I just hope all this magic stuff stops so we can all live our lives like we used to,” Anna said with a bright smile on her face.

  “Well I understand you guys wouldn’t want to continue with the party, considering that….” Annabelle said, but was cut short by Jacob.

  “We were almost killed today, what else could go wrong? I don’t know about you but I’m still going to party!” he said, throwing his fists in the air.

  “Yeah, what could go wrong? Come on!” Jackson said, in support of Jacob.

  They all headed out of the office alongside Anna and had the time of their lives for the rest of that day.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  It was about 7:00 p.m. and Anna had just returned from school.

  “We will continue tomorrow, at least it can take my mind off all this magic stuff,” she said, a bit drunk as she tried opening the door, her hands missing the doorknob by a few inches. She eventually got hold of herself and grabbed the door handle, after which she pushed it open. To her surprise, her father wasn’t seated in the sitting room as he usually did every evening by that time.

  That’s odd, at least they can’t see me drunk, she thought to herself as she slowly closed the door behind her and snuck upstairs, trying her best not to make a sound despite her staggering.

  She got into her room, locked the door behind her and threw herself on the bed, after which she slept off.

  “Anna! Hey Anna!” Josh screamed, banging on her door. She woke up, and most of the alcohol had worn off. There was a throbbing pain in the side of her head, but she ignored it, dragged her feet towards the door and unlocked it.

  “Whoa, you scared me, I didn’t know when you got back,” Josh said, looking at her, wondering why she looked so groggy.

  “You left the door wide open,” she replied, still clearly tired from the party.

  “Oh, sorry my bad. Mom and dad went on a date; they’ll be back by 9:00 p.m.” Josh said, looking at his wristwatch.

  “Well, wake me up when they get back,” Anna said, and slammed the door in his face without even bothering to wait for a reply.

  She climbed onto her bed, not long after which she fell asleep again. She hadn’t slept for long, when “Anna? Are you there?” her father asked, gently knocking on her door.

  “This is what I get for partying too hard and being a light sleeper,” she mumbled to herself, as she got out of bed and dragged her feet to the door. Her eyes were still heavy, and she could barely see, as she tripped and quickly grabbed on to the door handle.

  She opened the door and “Your mom and I need to talk to you about something,” Mr. Peterson said. He didn’t seem to be happy about what he wanted to discuss with Anna which kept her wondering what it was.

  “Come on downstairs,” He said, as he turned around and headed for the sitting room.

  “I hope he didn’t find out about Jackson,” Anna whispered to herself, as she followed him immediately. The effect of the spiked punch had completely worn off, but she was still a bit tired, but not as tired as she was when she arrived.

  On getting downstairs, her parents and Jacob were already seated waiting for her, which put her less at ease. She squeezed the tip of her blouse as she uncomfortably took a seat in their midst.

  Nobody spoke for a while until “I have something to tell you Annabelle,” her father said to her, looking at her with intent as he frowned in disappointment.

  “What is it dad?” she asked, as she gently bit her lip, bracing herself for impact.

  “Your mother, brother and I will be travelling to Florida in the month of April, which is exactly three months from now. We will be gone for two months, and will be back in the month of June. If you don’t want to stay here alone, you can stay at Joanna’s place for the meantime, but if you stay here, the Hittcroffs will help your mother and I watch over you,” he said, with sadness in his tone.

  “Why can’t I follow you?” she asked, as she scoffed, holding back a laugh of disappointment.

  “Well, it’s about your brother’s art training. We have to be there with him to take care of some legal things,” he replied, as he interlocked his fingers with that of his wife.

  “Can’t one of you go? Must it be the two of you?” Anna asked, a bit disappointed as she thought of the possibility of her parents being under a spell which was cast by the man toying with her life.

  “Well, I’m going to stay here, but this is not the end of this conversation,” Anna said, as she angrily walked out on her family without considering her actions.

  “It’s okay, I understand how she feels,” Mr. Peterson said, while holding back his wife who was about to go after Anna.

  Annabelle angrily took a shower and went back to bed, ignoring the multiple knocks on her door. The following morning, she deliberately left the house by 8:00 p.m. and headed for school to continue the new year celebration.

  On getting to school, the environment was more festive than it was the previous day, and Anna smiled as she took a deep breath, trying to savor every moment that went by.

  She noticed James Bludovitch staring at her from a distance and he quickly averted his eyes and walked away the moment she saw him.

  “There you are,” Jackson said, as he handed her a drink, his face beaming with a smile.

  “Don’t worry, it isn’t spiked,” he said, winking with a crooked but sexy smile on his face.

  “Where are the others?” Annabelle asked, as she looked around, hoping to see Joanna or Jacob nearby.

  “Let’s just enjoy the moment, I’m sure they are fine,” Jackson said, placing his index finger on Anna’s lips while he took a sip of the drink in his hand.

  “Guess what?” Annabelle asked, for she had remembered what transpired between her and her father the previous night.

  “My dad told me the most ridiculous thing last night,” she said, narrating the entire incident to Jackson who listened patiently.

  “What are the chances of you being attacked when your parents are gone?” Jackson asked with a concerned look on his face after which he hissed, fiddling with his fingers in the process. He was definitely scared of losing Annabelle, and he felt utterly helpless because he couldn’t perform magic.

  “The only person who can help us now is Crow, and she is always fond of disappearing,” Jackson said, as he slapped his forehead, trying to contain his anxiety.

  “Don’t worry, she will get us out of it,” Annabelle mentioned and glanced at his amulet.

  “Do you ever take yours off?” she asked, and fiddled with it, the different wavelengths of light reflecting into her eyes.

  “Nah, not a chance,” Jackson said, still concerned about Anna’s safety.

  “This is really strange,” he adjusted himself and said, almost cracking a smile.

  “One day, we know nothing about magic, living our lives like normal people, no danger, no drama, nothing, and the next day, Boom! Magic everywhere,” he sounded a bit frustrated and Anna could see the frustration in his expression.

  “It will soon be over, Crow is very powerful,” Annabelle said, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  “Not to be a killjoy or anything, but that guy really handed her ass to her. It’s a mystery how she beat him. Oh and look at us talking about death like it’s a normal thing of our lives now,” Jackson said as he childishly rested his head on Anna’s shoulder.

  “So until Crow arrives, we are sitting ducks, that’s really comforting,” Jackson said sarcastically, as they both watched the party rage on.

  Annabelle spent the rest of her day in the comfort of her boyfriend. Nothing could go wrong that day, or so she thought as they talked, partied, and even bonded more with each other, ignoring all the worries life could have possibly thrown at them.

  For Anna and her friends, the rest of that week was magic-free, and celebration-packed. Crow, in her usual manner, was nowhere to be found, leaving Anna with the conclusion that she had gone on a magical journey. Annabelle and her parents did not speak of the trip they were to embark on in the month of April, and everyone except Anna lived through the week without worrying about what to do next.